The High Court in Kampala has awarded Shs10 million in compensation to a man who was unlawfully held at Nalufenya Police Station for more than two weeks without being brought before a court, ruling that his constitutional right to personal liberty was violated.
In a judgment delivered electronically, Justice Bernard Namanya found that Malcolm Lukwiya had been detained for 16 days in 2015, far beyond the 48-hour limit permitted under Uganda’s Constitution.
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However, the court dismissed allegations that Lukwiya had been tortured or subjected to an unlawful cross-border transfer between Kenya and Uganda, citing insufficient evidence to support the claims.
Lukwiya had sued the Attorney General, accusing security agencies of illegally arresting, detaining and mistreating him after he was apprehended in Kenya in July 2015.
According to court records, Lukwiya, who was 17 at the time, said he was arrested at Wangige taxi stage in Nairobi by armed officers he believed were from both Uganda and Kenya. He testified that he was initially taken to Kenya’s Anti-Terrorism Police Unit headquarters before being transferred to Uganda two days later.
He told court that he was handcuffed, blindfolded and transported to Nalufenya Police Station in Jinja, where he was allegedly detained in isolation and questioned over suspected links to extremist groups operating in the region.
Lukwiya further claimed that he was assaulted during interrogations and accused of involvement in the killing of Muslim cleric Sheikh Hassan Kirya.
He also alleged that a Kenyan police officer placed a hood over his head and gave him food that caused him to lose consciousness before he arrived in Uganda.
His father, Webster Lukwiya, testified that he spent days trying to locate his son and later observed physical injuries and signs of trauma following his release.
The Attorney General denied the allegations and argued that there was no evidence of torture or illegal rendition. The government called former Nalufenya Police Station commander Omoding Wilson Otuna, who told court that no complaint of torture had been lodged during Lukwiya’s detention.
Otuna also testified that Kenyan authorities later picked up Lukwiya from Nalufenya on July 19, 2015.
In his ruling, Justice Namanya said the torture claims were not supported by medical evidence.
“Although the plaintiff, Lukwiya, alleged that he was tortured while in police detention, he did not adduce medical evidence in support of that allegation,” the judge held.
The court also found insufficient evidence to conclude that Lukwiya had been unlawfully transferred from Kenya to Uganda outside recognised legal procedures.
However, the judge noted that both parties agreed Lukwiya was held at Nalufenya from July 3 to July 19, 2015, without appearing before a court.
“The defendant adduced no evidence to prove such detention or show that the plaintiff was held pursuant to any recognised judicial order or legal process in Uganda,” Justice Namanya ruled.
The court held the Attorney General vicariously liable for the unlawful detention, awarded Lukwiya Shs10 million in damages and ordered the government to pay the costs of the suit.
Lukwiya was represented by lawyer Stella Nakamya of Rwakafuuzi & Company Advocates.
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